Illusion apparatus.



PATENTED JUNE 1l, 1907.

F. J. HAFNBR. ILLUSION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0UT.8, 1906.

3 SgEETS-SHEET lA PATENTED JUNBll, 1907. F. J. HAFNBR.

ILLUSION APPARATUS. APPLIGATIOH FILED 0011.8, 190s.

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No. 856,951. PATENTED JUNE ll, 1907.

P. J. HAFNER.

' ILLUSION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.8, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHBBT 3.

l? 2 Tm/@mima Uniriin sierras FREDERICK J. IIAFNER, OF PIIILADEI PATENT OFFICE,

PIIIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ATLAN'IIO COAST AMUSEMENT OOMPAN Y, INC., OF CAMDEN, N EW JEP- SEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ILLUSION APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907,

Appligmgion filed OOObGI 3,1906- stlil N0. 337,972.

To @ZZ whom, t 17u07/ con/cern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK J. IIAFNER,

a citizen of the United States, residl rg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Illusion Apparatus,

of which the Yfollowing is a specification.

Oarousels or merrl g'o-rounds as ordinarily constructed take up considerable space and it is impracticable to locate such Io apparatus in the tl ckly populated districts of cities or towns owing to thc heavy cxpense due to the cost of the ground taken up by the carousel.

The main object of my invention is to make an illision apparatus, which will represent a earrusel or merry-go-rouml, so that it can be located in a building of the ordinary width and the apparatus -will have the appearance of traveling in a circle although the zo platform on which the rider is mounted is stationary while the mirrors on each side travel in a direction opposite to the usual direction of travel of the ordinary carousel, usually that in which the figures are facing.

A further object of the invention is to combine with the apparatus moving picture mechanism as Vfully described hereafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure l, is a plan view of my improved illusion apparatus, Fig. '2, is a longitinilinal sectional view on the line 12-2, Fig. l 5 Fig. 3, is a transverseJ sectional view on the line Fig. l; Fig. et, is a sectional view showing mechanism which may be used Vfor imparting motion to the chariots or figures mounted on the platform; Fig. 5, is a diagram view illustrating a modification of my invention, and Fig. o, is a detail view of part of F 3.

A is an apartment having side walls and a front partition (L dividing' said apartment from the entrance or foyer of the building.

a is the rear partition dividing the apartment from the balance of the building, this partition has an opening a2 over whichnis placed the screen C upon which moving pictures may be displayed, the moving picture machine, by preference, being' mounted in the apartment on the opposite side of the partition a.

In the compartment A is a platform B preferably raised above the floor of the compartment, although in some instances this may form the 'floor of the compartment.

This platform is suspended from the ceiling a by rods b which are linked to bolts secured to the ceiling in the present instance so that the platform will have a limited swinging motion. The platform is curved in the form of a segment of a circle, corresponding to the curve of an culinary carousel or merry-go-round. On eai'h side of this platform is a short partition B which may be ornamented if desired in any suitable ina-nner. The partition prevents the persons on the platform stepping otlI to one side or observing' beyond a given line.

B2, BZ are the figures and chariots similar to the ordinary Ytigm'es and chariots of a carousel. T hose figures may be modified and altered and placed in di ll'erent positions without departing from Vmy invention. In fact, in some instances, plain seats may be used in place of the 'figures where it is not desired to go to the expense of placing figures in position, but I prefer, where possible, to use ligures so as to represent an ordinary carousel.

On one side of the platform is arranged an endless belt l) of mirrors which passes around rolls d, d, and on the opposite side is arranged another endless belt E of mirrors which passes around rolls c, e. The mirrors are preferably spaced apart to make the belts flexible so that they will readily pass around their rolls. The belt is preferably made of canvas or other suitable material to which the Amirrors` are secured and the spaces between the mirrors are painted. to represent the itixcd posts of an ordinary carousel, which are usually some distance Afrom the moving platform. Above the mirrors the belt is painted to represent a canvas or wooden roof with braces, the object being to represent as near as possible the 'fixed portions of the ordinary building on the moving belts. The mirrors extend preferably below the line of the side partitions B of the platform B as shown in F ig. 3.

In order to make the illusion seem complete I preferably make a Vframe F directly above the platform shaped to conform to the shape of the roof of the moving portion of the carousel, consisting of radiating beams canvas coverj" with depemling .tinted edges Fans may be used to impart motion to the canvas so as to give the appearance that the rotary motion of the platform is causing IOO the edges of the canvas to move. The endless belts D and E are guided at top and bottom and by rollers and the rolls d and c may be notched to receive projections on the belts so as to insure the belts being driven at the proper speed.

The entrance to the platform is preferably at one end through the passage m and the exit is at the opposite end of the platform through the passage n and side entry n, so that as' one set of passengers is entering the apartment another set can leave it without one interfering with the other set.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a device in which a rocking motion can be given to the chariots or figures by pivoting the chariots, for instance, on a central pivot s and connecting the rear of the chariots by a rod s to a crank shaft s2 operated by a motor or other suitable appliance, so that as the shaft is turned a rocking motion will be given to the chariots.

Fig. 5, shows the segment in the form of a half-circle. This is particularly adapted to a wide and shallow building. In this instance the admission door is at one side of the entrance and the exit on the opposite side, otherwise the device is very similar to that shown in Fig. l. The illusion carousel may be used with or without the moving picture appliances. The rolls d and e may be driven by any suitable motor situated at any given point, according to the building in which the apparatus is located. In some instances an endless belt mirror may be used on one side only of the platform, but in order to more perfectly represent a carousel I prefer to use two moving belts as shown.

I claim:

l. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a fixed platform representing a section of the rotating platform of a carousel, with an endless belt mirror at one side of the platform representing the fixed portions of the building, and means for moving said belt, substantially as described.

'2. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a suspended platform, a mirror in the form of 'an endless belt mounted on one side of the platform, and means for driving the mirror, substantially as described.

The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a suspended platform and mirrors in the form of endless belts mounted at each side of the platform, and means for driving the mirrors, substantially as described.

4l. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a platform, figures on tbe platform representing a carousel, said platform being suspended from the ceiling so as to have free swinging motion, endless belts at each side of the platform, mirrors carried by the belts, the mirrors having the outline of the permanent structure of the building, and means for driving said mirrors, substantially as described.

5. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a suspended platform, an endless belt at each side of the platform, mirrors carried by the endless belts, the platform being curved in the form of a segment of a circle, the runs of the belts adjacent to the platform being also curved, substantially as described.

6. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a building, a platform mounted in the building, guards on each side of the platform, seats mounted on the platform, two endless belts one at each side of the platform, the said belts and the platform being curved in the form of a segment of a circle, means for driving the belts, an admission opening at one end of the platform, and an exit opening at the opposite end of the platform, substantially as described.

7. T he combination in an illusion apparatus, of a building, a segmental platform, endless belts at each side of the platform, mirrors carried by J[he endless belts, a fixed screen at one end of the platform, and means for displaying moving pictures on thescreen, substantially described.

The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a platform, means for suspending the platform from the ceiling, figures and seats mounted on the platform, a frame above the platform, representing the roof of the moving portion of a carousel, endless belts at each side of the platform, mirrors carried by the endless belts, said belts being painted to represent the posts and other fixed portions of the building so that when the belts travel in a direction opposite to that which the figures are facing it will give the illusion of the platform traveling, substantially asdescribed.

9. The combination in an illusion apparatus, of a platform, an endless belt at each side of the platform, means for driving said belts, mirrors mounted on the belts, chariots and figures pivoted to the platform, and a crank shaft connected. to said chariots and figures to give a lrocking motion thereto, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signedy my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK J. I-IAFNER..

vWitnesses z IiLL. A. BARR, Jos. H. KLEIN.

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